If It Weren't for Him
by HolleringHawk65
Summary: How Rebecca was interviewed for S.T.A.R.S. and the impacts everything had on her. Chris&Rebecca pairing; please R&R!


**_Part 1—Pre RE: Wesker_**

Bravo team needed a medic. All specially operating teams needed a medic.

Because of this, I, as 'commander' of S.T.A.R.S., had to hold interview for the aforementioned medic position.

After several hours of this tedious affair, I was quickly approaching the conclusion that brining in an actual medic, perhaps from the army, would be easier then filling the position with a civilian.

I was just about to go and figure out how that might actually work when she came in.

The first thing I noted was the clothes she had on. She was wearing a pink, orange, and white plaid short-sleeved button up and rather new looking blue jeans with worn brown clogs.

I next looked up to see her young, doll like face. Her cheeks were flushed, as if she'd been running around. Her green eyes had a familiar look to them. Her hair was cut short, yet it was still flattering—it faintly reminded me of a flapper from the 20's.

"I'm so sorry! Please tell me you haven't filled the position in yet," she said in one breath.

"I'm afraid I haven't. Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to hire minors," I told her.

Her cheeks flushed a brighter color. "I happen to be eighteen and a half," she informed me, coming in and closing my office door behind her.

I involuntarily gulped.

At this distance I could smell her perfume—quite obviously, it was lavender. I usually couldn't tolerate the scent, though that might be because I hate reminiscing, but for her, I could.

"Then please, feel free to sit down." I meant the words to come across as sarcastic, but they actually sounded _nice_.

She placed her resume in front of me. "Please, I know that probably a dozen of more experienced people came in and interviewed for this job, but I know I can do this."

"What makes you so sure?" I asked her, scanning the paper whilst trying to not look at her. She looked too much like _her_.

I doubled checked the name as I pushed my sunglasses back above the bridge of my nose. She was Rebecca Chambers, not Rebecca Muller. I was good; they couldn't possibly be related. _She_ had told me that she immigrated to here alone.

When Rebecca didn't respond, I looked up at her. "Well? Does the cat have your tongue?" I asked her.

"I'm smart," she began softly. "I know I can do this. Despite what you think may be inexperience, I graduated _college last year_."

"Graduating college has nothing to do with experience," I countered. I myself had done college level curriculum at a young age.

I realized, looking back at her scant resume, that she would've made a perfect Umbrella employee; a major in biochemistry and a minor in medicine. I swallowed again, waiting for Miss Chambers to say more.

"You are right," I loved hearing those words, "but," that's a word I don't like, "it means that I'm dedicated. Isn't that what you want for S.T.A.R.S.? Dedication to the job? Instead of asking me why you _should_ hire me, you should be asking why you _shouldn't_," she informed me.

"You don't even have the job and yet you're already talking back to me. You're full of yourself and you think you're all that there is, not-"

"I don't think I'm all there is. I know that I'll be the _best_ there is, if you give me time," she told me.

I raised my eyes, glancing at the young woman who had now chosen to sit in front of me. "You have no military experience," I reminded her.

"I didn't realize that was a strict requirement. If it helps, my father was a military medic," she explained.

"Then why didn't you put him down as a reference?" I asked.

She paused; I could hear the catch in her throat. I stopped reading and looked at her.

"My father is dead. He died overseas when I was eleven," she said to me.

"You have my condolences."

"It was a while ago."

"Sometimes the heart doesn't heal, even with time," I said softly. "Sometimes that just makes it worse."

She said nothing to that.

She strongly reminded me of _her_; how we'd be getting into an argument and then we would stop as one of us brushed a soft spot. The making up afterwards part was the best, but that wasn't exactly an option for Miss Chambers and me. I was old enough to be her father.

"I suppose you won't give me the position," she whispered softly.

Now, here was my deciding moment. Have Rebecca come in as the Bravo Medic for three weeks, or let her go? She had so much ambition…

"Please, I know this sounds pathetic, but I'm desperate for benefits and a paycheck. I have no one and if I don't pay my next car payment-"

"Relax, you have the job." If there was one moment Miss Muller would have ever been proud of me after what I'd done, it would have been then, as her doppelganger got up and hugged me for all she was worth.

"Thank you so much, Captain Wesker," she said into my chest. "You have no idea how much I appreciate this. I'm forever in your debt."

_That's what you think,_ I thought numbly.

* * *

**_Rebecca_**

The day after that at work, it was all introductions. The next thing I knew, Chris was making jokes with me, Jill was telling me gossip, and Barry was asking me if I could babysit (to the last one, Wesker instantly laughed and told Barry a medic shouldn't be babysitting. However, I bypassed this comment and made plans to anyway.)

"Becky, how about we take you out to the diner tonight? As a welcome to S.T.A.R.S. kind of thing," Chris offered me.

"Oh, that would be nice," I said softly. I was so embarrassed; Chris was amazingly handsome; hands down hotter than any guy that I'd ever met before. Except for maybe Wesker, but he was hot in a different kind of way, like a Greek god.

Not to say that Chris wasn't built like a Greek god…oh, I should stop this.

"Jill, Barry, what do you say?" Chris asked, turning to his friends.

"I'm game," Barry told us.

"It does sound fun," Jill said. "Wesker, will you come?"

I looked at my new boss—the founder of S.T.A.R.S. and the captain of alpha team. He was standing right outside of his office, the very same office I'd rushed into yesterday, desperate beyond belief and scared about my payments.

"Unfortunately, Miss Chambers has to fill out some forms; I foresee no celebratory dinner for her tonight," Wesker told me.

_Right, he had mentioned that earlier. _"Thank you for trying," I told Chris.

"Anything for you, Becky," Chris told me.

The rest of the day was filled with paper work, just as Wesker had said. I didn't know how anybody could ever come up with so much paperwork! It was starting to get ridiculous.

"Are you going to be okay here?" Richard Aiken asked me. "I have a date with my girlfriend."

Wesker had left poor Richard here with me and for the past hour all he'd been doing was playing with a Rubik's cube.

"Yeah, totally! Go have some fun, I'll be fine. Tell her it's my fault if you're late, okay?"

"Alright Rebecca, see you tomorrow," Richard said, smiling at me before leaving.

"All alone and I still have at least a half hour's worth of paperwork," I muttered to myself. I got up a few minutes later to stretch my legs and I was bending backwards to try to get a cinch out of my back when the door opened. I lost my concentration and fell right on my bum.

I heard a deep chuckle and looked up to see Chris standing over me. He was holding a bag of food from a local Chinese food place.

"I know I mentioned a diner before, but Chinese is right down the street," he explained to me, setting it down on the desk next to mine, and then extending his hand to help me up.

I tentatively took it and he pulled me up, right into his arms.

I knew I lingered a moment too long, but he was warm and his clothes smelled like they had just come out of the dryer. "Uh, thanks for dinner," I told him, pulling away.

"You're welcome," he gave me a winning smile before continuing on, "It's nothing, really. I just wish you could have spent more time with Alpha team, too. I looked at your schedule and I saw that, well, we don't get to really see each other much," he told me.

I blushed and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. "You're sad about that?"

"Of course I am! It's not fair that you're new and Wesker is just keeping you with the same people." He pulled up a chair to my desk and then moved the paperwork. "You did just move here, didn't you?"

"I actually didn't officially move yet. I'm living in a motel," I explained, causing further blushing. It was embarrassing—to me, at least—that I didn't have a home.

"Instead of wasting money on a motel, why don't you move in with me?" he offered. "I'm sure we can find you a place soon, if you're worried about anything happening."

"Anything happening?" I echoed, stopping my search for dumplings in the bag to look at Chris.

"I mean, if you _wanted _something to happen, I just…" he looked at me with those blue eyes of his. "I really should just shut up now, shouldn't I?"

I smiled at him. "Oh, no, continue. I insist."

He playfully rolled his eyes and then took the bag from me. "I didn't know what you liked, but I got sweet & sour chicken with the sauce to the side, of course, dumplings, wonton soup, rice, a bottle of Dr. Pepper, and a bottle of 7 Up."

"That's all fine," I told him, taking the dumplings, the Dr. Pepper, and a carton of rice. "Thanks again for this, I'm absolutely starving."

"You're welcome," he said softly. "How are you doing with all of this paperwork? What's it for, anyway?"

I finished a dumpling before answering him. "The first part was contracts for S.T.A.R.S.. By now it's just all of this kind of weird stuff. It's more like Cap'n Wesker is quizzing me then paperwork."

"What do you mean?" Chris asked me.

I pulled the top sheet off the pile. "This is asking me how people catch pneumonia," I told him.

"It's not that much unlike Wesker to ask weird questions," my new friend told me.

I shrugged and put the paper back. "Anyways…Tell me about yourself," I said to him.

"There's not really much to know. I have a younger sister named Claire. She's a year older than you, but I think you'd like her. I used to work for the Air Force with Barry, but that didn't exactly turn out well…What about you?"

I noted he said nothing about his parents, but I didn't want to upset him by asking, and instead focused on his question. "I skipped a lot of grades when I was younger and I basically graduated college two months ago. I'm an only child and currently an orphan."

"Currently?"

"My mom is in rehab and my father died," I explained.

"Oh. I'm sorry, Becky," he said to me.

I tried not to think about it. I knew I shouldn't think about it; I haven't thought about it for so long, and now it was twice in two days.

We spent the rest of dinner talking about trivial things, and afterwards Chris got up to throw away the trash. He came back over to my desk, which I was sitting cross-legged on top of, and then, most shockingly of all, leaned down and kissed me.

Somebody cleared their throat. "I thought I had warned you about fraternizing with your co-workers, Mr. Redfield," we heard Wesker say.

"I'll pick you up at nine, alright?" Chris whispered into my ear as he stood up. I nodded, blushing hard as I got off my desk. "Good night, Captain Wesker, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"I suppose you will," the older man said, mostly under his breath.

"Um, I'm almost done with all of these papers. I'm sorry it's taking me so long, it's just that there's so much," I explained to him.

"Relax, that's fine," he told me as he retreated to his office.

* * *

I was finally finished at quarter to nine. By this time, an hour and a half after Wesker had re-arrived at work, I was convinced that he would actually stay in his office for the rest of the time I was here.

Instead of just waiting out the fifteen minutes that it would be until Chris got here by myself, I went over and knocked on my captain's door.

"Come in," I heard his voice say.

I opened the door and came in. Why was I doing this? Was I asking for him to get mad at me and fire me on my first day?

"Um, I was just wondering if you wanted to talk before I left," I told him, as nervous as some dogs during a thunderstorm.

Wesker looked up from the papers sprawled up across his desk. I found myself once again slightly unnerved, even though I couldn't really see his eyes through his sunglasses.

"Talk about what exactly, Miss Chambers?" he asked me.

"I don't know," I confessed. "My friends used to tell me how chatty their bosses were."

"And you thought I would be like that because?"

I bit the inside of my lower lip, trying not to lose my patience yet utterly failing. "I don't know why, alright? I don't know everything—nobody knows everything—and yet here you are, and it feels like you've already asked me every question you possibly can and yet you _still_ find more to ask! I mean, how am _I _supposed to know if Magellan ever married or not?"

He looked at me, a curious expression on his face. "You actually went and did all of _that_ instead of going out to the diner with the rest of S.T.A.R.S.?"

"Yes, that's why Chris was here. He brought dinner," I explained, suddenly becoming exhausted.

"Oh, I see. Miss Chambers, you look pale; are you alright?" he asked me, getting up from behind his desk.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just the florescent lighting," I explained. I glanced at the clock as I realized something.

How could Wesker tell that I was pale from behind his glasses?

He paused where he was, his hand on his desk. "Good night then, Miss Chambers. It's nearly nine," he told me.

"Oh, thanks. I'll see you tomorrow, Captain, have a good night. Don't bury yourself in work," I tried to tease, walking out of his office and closing the door behind me.

I walked out of the police building just as Chris pulled up to the curb in his pick-up truck. I got in before he could offer to help me in.

"All in all, how would you rate your first day at S.T.A.R.S.?" Chris asked me.

"An eight," I told him as we pulled up to a stop at the intersection. "I'm staying at the Clover Motel."

"There is no way I'm taking you back there. Do you know how far away that is from the office? How about the high crime rate around there?"

"All of my stuff is there except my car," I protested. "Now take me back or I swear-"

Chris chuckled, distracting me. "You swear what? Becky, in case you haven't realized, _we're_ the law around here. You can't call the police on me."

"I _could_," I mumbled, "it just wouldn't be effective."

"Fine, I'll take you back. But you're packing your bags and then we're going back to my place, alright? Not like you have a real choice or anything." The only reason I knew he was just looking out for me—in his own way—was the way his voice sounded, as if he were teasing me.

We got to the motel and I got out first. I was kind of angry at him, but more at myself. Why was I letting him do this? I could stay wherever the hell I wanted!

Despite this, I quickly got my things together and went back out to his truck after returning my room key.

I had three bags, a pillow, and a blanket, yet I felt like I was taking up all of the room in the cab. Chris neither commented or complained and simply drove to his apartment building.

Once we were in his apartment, I was surprised. It wasn't too messy, it didn't smell like beer, and had little personal touches.

He showed me the guest bedroom and the bathroom and then he looked like he was going to go to bed, but he turned around and kissed me again.

I subconsciously knew that I didn't have to kiss him back, but I wanted to. I put my arms around his neck and allowed him to deepen the kiss as he pulled me closer to him.

* * *

I woke up alone in the guest bedroom bed, the sheets still warm where I remembered Chris falling asleep. I heard the shower running and Chris's off-key singing and I found myself smiling at that.

I got up and searched around for my robe and got it on just as the shower turned off. A few minutes later, Chris came out in cargo shorts and a light blue v-neck shirt.

He came over to me and gave me another kiss, cupping my face in his hands as he did. "I'm sorry if I woke you up," he whispered into my ear, sending chills up my spin.

"It's fine, you didn't really," I told him.

We sat in the kitchen and had breakfast together before he left to go to work. He'd unfortunately been right—we didn't work shift together for the next two and a half weeks.

I eventually took a shower and left for work at quarter to two. As I walked down the stairs, I realized my car wasn't even here, but at work. Then I remembered that work was only a few blocks away, and everything was perfect again.

* * *

In my second week of working for S.T.A.R.S., I once again found myself the last person in the office. Wesker came in, stumbling slightly, attracting my attention.

"God damn Birkin…the man's an idiot…" he muttered, taking a swig from a bottle he was holding in his left hand.

He saw me and stopped. "Miss Muller, why are you still here? Don't you have a plane to catch?" he asked me. Or, I thought he asked me. As you know, my last name is 'Chambers' not 'Muller.'

I looked around to see if there was another woman here. Nope. It was just me and my obviously drunk Captain.

"Well? Didn't I tell you to go back to your third world country?" he asked me.

"Captain Wesker, I'm not Miss Muller. It's me, Rebecca Chambers. Remember? I'm Bravo team's medic," I told him.

He stared at me. It was then I realized his glasses were actually _off_ and I could see his grey eyes. He blinked slowly before going into his office, locking the door behind him.

I stayed at the office a little bit longer and then I left. Before I did, though, I went to Wesker's door.

"Good night Captain, see you in the morning," I said.

"Good night, Rebecca," he said to me.

It was only when I was replaying the scene in my head during dinner with Chris, Richard, and his girlfriend Bridgette, did I realize that was the first time he'd said my first name.

* * *

Work after that was rather mundane. I enjoyed my nights with Chris a lot more, and I found myself becoming friends with everybody at the police department, even going as far as to join the basketball team.

On July 22nd, I helped work on the helicopter. I'd been rather good at engineering, but I was glad that Edward Dewey and Kevin Dooley were there to help me. We went back to the office to find Chris arguing with Wesker. Or, really it was Chris yelling at Wesker, and then the blond speaking rather calmly to my boyfriend.

"She is _not_ going anywhere tomorrow! Captain, she's only been to the firing range _once_!" Chris said.

Well, I knew by 'she' he meant me because he surely wouldn't be arguing about Jill going anywhere.

"We have strong reason to believe that Bravo team will be in need of their medic," Wesker countered.

"Then send in Alpha team's! Anyone but Becky!" Chris begged him.

"Chris, I can handle myself!" I told him.

He spun around. Judging by the look on his face, he obviously hadn't known I'd gotten back.

"Becky, you're eighteen-"

"And a half," Wesker added.

Chris shot a glare at him before looking back at me. "You can't go out, please."

"I appreciate your concern, but I'm capable. Anyway, it'll probably be nothing but a couple of rabid animals," I told him. "Just relax, alright?"

His shoulders slumped forward. "Fine. Be like that. I'll see you later," he told me, walking past me.

I was embarrassed beyond belief the rest of the day. By the time I got home, I was too tired to do anything and I went straight to the guest bedroom after taking my shower.

In the morning, I woke up early and left early for the mission, completely avoiding Chris. If I had known what was going to happen, I probably would've spent the night with him, stayed in bed longer. But I hadn't, and I was angry.

* * *

**_Wesker_**

I looked at Rebecca for what I thought was for the last time. In the pit of my stomach, I knew it was wrong to send her. But the innocence of a young spirit does not last forever, and trying to prolong it would only add to the world's misery, so I watched as she got into the helicopter, choosing to sit next to Richard.

"Good bye, Captain," they all said in unison, with Rebecca waving as well. Her smile that day had been pure excitement.

If only she knew what awaited her…

* * *

Just two days later, I was surprised to find Rebecca alive, not to mention with Chris. The two had obviously since overcome the spat that would've have been a lovely thing to remember each other by, and, to be blunt, they both looked rather pissed off.

After I made it clear that I wasn't being paid by Umbrella—that I _was_ Umbrella, and that _this_ was all of my doing, I saw the look of horror on Rebecca's face. It was akin to _her_ face after I told _her_ the truth.

"Yes, believe it. Believe that this is what I am," I told her, aiming my gun to the strap of her bullet proof vest. I pulled the trigger, and the force knocked the medic back.

"Rebecca!" Chris moved to help her, to make sure she was alright, but I didn't want that to happen.

"Don't move," I told him. The sound of my voice instantly stopped him.

Only a few minutes later, Chris thought I died at the hands of my own Tyrant.

* * *

**_Part 2: Post RE/RE2/RE3/Code Veronica: Rebecca_**

I didn't want to believe it.

Nobody really said anything on the way back home, but as we landed on top of the police building, I did.

"Nobody will believe us," I told them. Who would believe there were actual zombies? That Captain Wesker—_Albert Wesker_—had been working for Umbrella and S.T.A.R.S. were his guinea pigs? I wouldn't believe that if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Regardless of him seeming cold at some points, he had still been our Captain…

"They will, eventually," Jill told me, bringing me out of my trance.

Nobody believed Alpha team. I didn't even try to help thicken their story. All I did was write the report that Billy Coen was dead so he could live his new life in peace.

* * *

"I have to go. I have to hunt down every single fraction of Umbrella that I can," Chris told me as he packed his duffel bag.

"At least let me come with you," I told him.

"For the last time, _no_. I don't want anything happening to you," he told me.

I sighed as I looked at my boyfriend. He zipped up his bag and then looked at me. He kneeled on the bed so that he was closer to me, and then bent down so our lips met once again.

"I love you," he told me.

I swallowed hard. "I love you, too," I said. "Promise me you'll come back."

I asked him this even though I knew that it could just be as empty as my father's promises.

He pulled back and brought one of my hands to his lips and kissed it. "I promise you that I'll come back. One of these days, we'll settle down and start a family, okay? I promise you."

I nodded even though I knew 'one of these days' could mean a few years away. The best I could do was hope that we both made it til then.

That night, long after he'd left, I laid down on our bed, pulled his pillow to my face, and cried.

* * *

In mid-September, I left Raccoon City. I said my good-byes only to Jill and Brad, since Barry had already left, then went on the road. My mother was due to be released from rehab soon, so I figured after that we could actually try to rebuild our relationship.

As soon as I heard about Raccoon City, I was horrified.

_And to think that I ever thought lightning couldn't strike twice…_

I was on edge until I heard from Jill. She told me that she was alright now, but she'd been infected. Unlike the others, a man named Carlos Oliveira had been there for her and gotten her the cure. They'd been hunted down by another mutant, but they'd gotten away from it. Unfortunately, Brad had died.

Shortly after that, Jill actually came to visit me—with Carlos. Apparently, she really didn't have any idea where Chris was. We were both left in the dark.

* * *

It was in January of 1999. We—Jill, Carlos, my mother, and I—had just taken the Christmas tree down. We all lived together, despite my mother's protests. She thought that I did some weird stuff with the newer couple—which would be a huge _no_, but still.

I was in the living room by myself when I heard a knock on the door. Glancing at the clock, I saw that it was ten o'clock. I had no idea who would be coming at this time, but regardless, I got up and opened the door.

Chris stood there, holding a little bundle of something that moving around. He smiled down at me, his blue eyes sparkling.

"Merry Christmas!" he said to me.

"Chris!" I flung my arms around him. "You're alright," I said softer, crying tears of joy into the crook of his neck.

The bundle squirmed in between us and I stepped back, almost scared.

Before I knew it, a little grey fluff-ball was staring at me.

"You got us a dog?" I asked him, taking the puppy from his arms.

He smiled. "He's a gift from a friend. He's only four months old but he's the most obedient creature I've ever seen."

I kissed his little black nose. "So cute," I whispered.

"You get to name him," he said, as he took his coat and boots off.

There was only one thing I could think of when I looked at the grey fluff ball with the beautiful blue eyes.

"Ash," I said softly. "If that's alright with you; I know it's not very creative."

He wrapped his arms around me and put his head on my shoulder. "Of course it's alright. I think it's a perfect name."

That night, I curled up next to Chris on the couch and we watched black and white movies until we fell asleep. Surprisingly, Ash watched with us. He stayed in front of the couch, falling asleep shortly before we did.

It was perfect.

In the morning, it was revealed to me that the three other occupants of the house had known Chris was coming home—apparently, he had called from an airport the other day while I was interviewing to be a teacher's assistant. Everybody had wanted to surprise me, which had definitely been accomplished.

So, for three blissful months, Chris and I were together again. I met his sister, and somehow, all six of us were a hodge-podge of happy existence, despite Claire being upset about Steve, Sherry, and Leon.

Unfortunately, good things never last forever, and Chris was leaving once again to hunt down Umbrella, this time with Jill. With Chris not at the house, Claire started disappearing more and more until she officially moved out. This was, however, the exact opposite of what Carlos did. He stayed around after Jill left, having nothing better to do.

Chris tried to not stay away for too long, but the shortest time he was away was two months, and the longest was eight months.

* * *

**_Part 3: Post Umbrella's End/RE5/RE6: Rebecca_**

It was a time in 2003 that Jill and Chris came home with the good news. After all this time, Umbrella was officially done. All that was left was destroying the companies that had bought from Umbrella and finding the elusive Wesker so they—notice the use of that word. _They_—could kill him.

Pumped with the news that they had finally accomplished something for their newly formed B.S.A.A., Chris and Jill only stayed the weekend before leaving once again.

* * *

It was shortly after this that I was driving home from an emergency at the vet's. Ash had started puking up everywhere, not to mention my poor pooch couldn't sleep.

It was dark out, and the wind was ripping the new leaves off the trees as rain came down in sheets. I was just about to pull over when something leaped out of the woods in front of my car. In a knee-jerk-type reaction, I spun the steering wheel, trying to avoid whatever it was. Unfortunately, this lead to me crashing into a tree.

I tried to keep calm as I realized that I had bashed my head into the driver's seat window and the only thing keeping me from feeling the pain was an adrenaline rush—something I knew wouldn't last forever.

As pain started creeping in, Ash got up from his seat and started barking as he stood next to me. The sound made my ears ring.

When I looked out at the window, I saw a shape coming towards us. The calmness I had tried to install was rapidly fading and panic started settling in, synced with the pain in my head. I moved back, away from the door, closer to my dog, anything that I thought would try to get the shape to go away. I had no idea what it was, but my head was coming up with the worst of possibilities.

My vision was getting spotty when the door opened, causing the cab light to turn on. He was instantly illuminated, and I felt my heart sink.

"Shh, relax Rebecca," he practically cooed as he reached in and brought his arms around me.

"Wesker, get off me," I said to him. "I-"

"Would rather die? Unfortunately for you, Miss Chambers, I do intend to try to save you," the older blond told me.

I couldn't fight him. I couldn't do anything. Was I really as helpless as Chris thought I was all of those years ago, back in Raccoon City?

The last thing I remember was glancing down to see Ash walking alongside of Wesker as the latter held me to his chest.

* * *

**_Wesker_**

I wish I could say it was simply happenstance that had led me to saving Rebecca that night. Alas, I had had much different intentions when I originally set off after her. Had that fox not passed in front of her car, I probably would've gone through with my plans.

But I was suddenly reminded that Rebecca was not Chris, and she only met him because I had hired her, not because they had met in a bar and decided to exchange numbers.

So here I was, bringing Miss Muller's doppelganger into my motel room. I hope all of that rain had not caused her to have pneumonia or hypothermia.

I relunctantly took her wet clothing off, revealing the same body I had oddly thought it would be. I quickly put the unconscious young woman in a blanket before I set about trying to patch her head injury up.

Her dog got up onto the bed and laid next to her, putting his head on her lap. He watched me with eerily blue eyes.

I was thankful when I was done, put then I had no idea what to do. I made sure her clothes were laid out so they would dry quickly, then, knowing that she would be unconscious for quite a while longer, sat down on one of the stiff wooden chairs and read a book that was in the room.

Even though I found the story quite childish—then again, it was written _for_ children—there were _some_—very few—elements that were rather ageless.

All in all, the story about the-boy-with-the-lightning-scar-who-finds-himself- to-be-a-wizard-and-goes-to-a-wizarding-school wasn't too bad.

It was around three o'clock when the rain stopped and I decided it was a sufficient time to awkwardly dress a still unconscious Rebecca and then take her back to the crashed pickup truck. The dog continued to follow me, though there had never been a doubt in my mind that he wouldn't have.

I placed Rebecca back into the truck, and then took out my disposable cell phone and called 911. I told the woman that there was an accident, where it was, and then hung up before anymore questions could be made.

Before I closed the truck's door, I looked at Rebecca. "You make me wish that I had ended things differently with her," I told her as she started to wake up. "If only you had come into my life sooner."

I closed the door after making sure the dog was safely inside and started walking back to the motel, and along the way, I threw the burner phone into a ditch.

Before I left the town, I passed the time by thinking about what Chris's face would look like if he were to find out I actually saved Rebecca.

Amusing, to say the least.

* * *

**_Rebecca_**

After the accident, my mom didn't like me going out by myself, and, almost always, she or Carlos accompanied me, though I was 'permitted' to take Ash on walks around our 32 acre property.

* * *

It was in 2005 that Claire was involved in another bioterrorist incident, this time at an airport. Though Chris was in the country at the time, he'd been asleep from jetlag during most of the action, but had at least called his sister afterwards.

Then there was the incident right after at the WilPharma institute, which led to Curtis Miller injecting himself with the G-Virus…Really, it had been quite the time to be at our house. Chris demanded that his sister visited for a while, but she refused, saying work took precedence, which led to him go to her, and sequentially taking even more time away from time for the two of us.

* * *

2007 was the hardest year. We found out just after New Year's that Jill had apparently died, along with Wesker.

Carlos was obviously distraught at the news of his girlfriend's passing, but at the same time, he at least knew that she had died doing something she'd been proud of—saving the world from one of its 'greatest' (meaning the most evil) bioterrorist.

Chris stopped going out for a while, preferring to stay home. He wasn't the same though; I didn't think I'd ever see the old Chris Redfield ever again. There was a lot more drinking, but at least he still had the common decency not to do it in front of my mom.

I could understand the loss of someone you cared about. But this was getting to be extreme, and eventually I was so desperate to get him out of the house that I called Barry.

He came down from Canada and literally dragged Chris out, along with the help of Carlos. Following what I had always assumed was a 'get your shit back together talk,' Chris went back to the B.S.A.A..

* * *

The gaps in between when Chris left and came back were again overtly long. I tried to make the most of the time we did have together, but he always seemed distant, and it scared me to think that he might actually, after all this time, officially break up with me.

Then March of 2009 rolled around. Chris was off in Africa, following 'just one last lead' on the possibility of Jill being alive.

I was home—alone, because Carlos was out and my mother was at a weekend getaway with her friends—when Ash started barking.

He growled at the door just as one of the front windows broke into a thousand pieces. Ash leapt up and started attacking the intruder while I got up and found one of the many hidden guns around the house.

I found a handgun and aimed. Just as I pulled the trigger, Ash was thrown against the door.

The intruder stumbled back, slumping against the door. I'd never seen the man before, which later led me to the conclusion that he was a hired mercenary.

At the time, I didn't care. I knelt down to Ash, crying as I realized his leg was broken and his head was bleeding. I could do nothing for him except hold him in my lap and stroke his neck and stomach as he slowly died. By the time Carlos came home at four in the morning, the tears had stopped and Ash was cold.

* * *

**_Chris_**

The moment I got home, I knew something was wrong. It wouldn't take a genius to figure that out, as where one of the front windows had been was boarded up with plywood.

Instead of going through the front door, I went in through the unusually empty kitchen.

"Becky! I'm home!" I called out and was met with nothing.

I went into the living room and found Rebecca curled up next to Carlos. She was asleep and his hand was on the base of her neck. I glanced at the front door and saw blood and bits of glass.

"What happened?" I asked him.

"A mercenary came to the house. Ash attacked him while Rebecca got a gun," he whispered. "I came home too late. If I'd been here…"

That's when the pieces all fit together. The eerily quiet house was due to lack of dog claws on the floor, of the sound of Ash breathing, of him doing something cute to make Becky laugh.

All of the elation I'd found when I realized Wesker was actually dead and Jill was quite alive disappeared.

Ash was dead and Rebecca had been alone when it happened. And it probably had happened because Wesker knew I was getting close, or one of the countless other enemies I'd made through the B.S.A.A. figured that attacking Rebecca would hurt me.

I didn't know what to do or say, so I went upstairs and took a shower, rinsing off all of the travel and hospital smells. Not like many people would care.

But Ash would've.

I went back downstairs to find Rebecca awake and sipping a cup of tea. Her back was to me, but I knew she'd heard me because you'd have to be deaf not to.

She looked over her shoulder, but instead of the smile I usually received, I was met with a cold stare.

"So what did you do now?" she asked me, her voice bitter. "How many B.O.W.'s did you kill? What achievement has the mighty Chris Redfield done now?"

"Wesker's dead," I softly told her, "and I found Jill."

Carlos, who had just walked into the room, gave me a small smile before walking into the sitting area.

"And at what cost; whose lives?" Rebecca asked me, getting up. "How do you know he's actually _dead_? How many times have you thought that? We thought he was dead after the Tyrant impaled him. We thought he was dead after he and Jill _fell out of a window_. What makes it so different this time?"

"He got hit with two rocket launchers and was melting in lava?" I suggested, trying to avoid her other question.

She rolled her eyes and turned back around.

"How's Jill?" Carlos asked me.

"She's recuperating at the hospital. Wesker really messed her up," I told him. "She might not remember you entirely…"

"I'm willing to take a chance. I'll see you later if one of you doesn't blow up the house first," he said, and I think he was only half joking.

"Bye, Carlos," I said to him as he walked off.

"Why don't you leave now, too?" Rebecca asked me a few minutes later. "Surely you don't want to talk to a weakling like me."

I walked around and sat next to her. I placed my hands on her cheeks and gave her the longest, softest kiss I had in a while. When I pulled away, her eyes were closed.

"You're not weak, Becky, or you wouldn't have made it through all the things you have. You're strong, and beautiful, and I love that. I love you," I told her.

"I love you, too, but I'm just so sick of you being gone. Since Jill is alive, can you stop?" she asked me, tears starting to well up. "I need you _here_, not half way across Earth in some third world country. If you think I'm strong, I'm tired of being that. For the past week and a half, all I've wanted to do is break down, but I know I can't do that with just the three of us here. I need _you_ to be here, so _you_ could put _me_ back together again, for once."

I brought her closer, holding her to me. "I'm here, Becky, and I won't leave until you don't need me anymore, I promise."

* * *

**_Rebecca_**

The next two and a half years were the best. Chris stayed with me, like he promised. We finally got married after being 'together' for nearly twelve years (or, that's what it had been when the wedding happened.) Carlos was a steady hand for Jill, and my mother—creepily enough for me to say this—was dating again. Claire was always dating somebody, but those relationships never lasted long; I don't think she ever really got over Steve, but that's what family is for.

I was waiting until Chris came back from Edonia to tell him the big news—after a year of actually trying, I was finally pregnant.

But, Chris didn't come back. Jill told me that one day he was in a hospital in eastern Europe, and the next he was gone. Piers Nivans, the only other remaining number of Chris's team, was searching for him.

Six months passed before I actually heard anything about Chris. Jill had found out that Piers had finally found him, but they couldn't come back. They had to go to China for another major scale bioterrorism attack, and I was once again forced to wait.

My new dog, a male St. Bernard named Brutus, was my main source of companionship, though Carlos and Jill stopped frequently and my mother still technically lived at the house.

When Chris came back in late July, I thought that he would be unfixable. I was seven and a half months pregnant, and he hadn't even known. He came into the house, saw me, and stopped completely.

"Becky," he said softly.

"I'm sorry about Piers," I told him, honestly meaning it. "There's nothing more fitting for a soldier to die for his cause."

He stood in the main hall, nearly right in the spot where the mercenary had been shot, where I'd cradled Ash to his death, and Chris got to simply stand there.

"I know," he told me. "It still hurts though, knowing I might've been able to save him."

"Sometimes, people have to leave," I said.

He swallowed hard, still looking at me. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright. It's not like that's the first time you've left. It's not really the longest, either, so I shouldn't complain," I explained to him as I got up.

"Do you know if it's a boy or girl?" he asked me.

"Boy," I answered him.

* * *

In a miracle of all miracles, Chris was home for the birth of our child. He was even able to take off for the baptizing. We agreed that the godparents would be Jill and Carlos, mainly because I knew that if something actually happened to both of us, the two of them would be around—together—to take care of my little Ash.

It was that day that I met Jake Muller. It was odd to see somebody so bright and bubbly like Sherry with someone who seemed so broody, but I guess the same thing could've been applied to Chris and me a few years ago.

He and Sherry came up to me, the latter holding a little blue bag and begging to hold Ash. I let her and she cradled him as if she were a mother herself.

I glanced at Jake again. I couldn't see anything even remotely resembling Wesker in him, but he had the DNA to prove their relationship, so I guess it shouldn't really matter whether he looks like his father or not.

"I don't mean to sound weird, but you look like my mother before she was sick," Jake said to me.

"That's what your dad thought, too," I told him. I saw a grimace pass on his face, but I continued on. "He once told me that he wished he could've done things differently. If he'd known about you, I'm sure he would've wanted to be a part of your life."

"Or use me in his freak projects," Jake countered, sounding more bitter than anyone else I'd ever heard.

"I'm sure he would've drawn a line for his own flesh and blood," I responded.

Sherry came back from wherever she had walked off to, smiling. "He is just so cute! I hope my baby—when I have one, which is probably very far off—will be just as cute."

"I'm sure they will be," I told Sherry. "It was nice meeting you two today, I hope to see you again soon."

"I'm sure you will," Sherry said, smiling at me.

"Yeah, I hope you have a good day, Rebecca," Jake said before the two turned around and left.

"You too, Jake," I said as he walked away, which vividly reminded me of when I'd gone up to Wesker's door and told him good night. How long ago had that been? Just over fifteen years, right?

I went over to Chris, who was talking to Leon and his friend Hunnigan. I nudged my husband and gave him our son, smiling.

"Honey dearest, it's your turn to change the diaper," I told him. Leon laughed as Chris apologized and walked off.

I was still holding the bag from Sherry, and curiosity got the best of me and I opened it, moving aside the tissue paper. I raised an eyebrow as I pulled out a velvet box that held a silver chain necklace with a leaf encased in glass. I raised an eyebrow at Leon and Hunnigan.

"That's a leaf from an ash tree, if I'm not mistaken. That's actually a very clever gift," Hunnigan told me.

I smiled once she explained it to me. "You're right, it is."

"At least we got him something he'll actually appreciate," Leon said, though a smile was on his face.

"You know, my son can like both stuffed animals and leaf charm necklaces," Chris said, appearing almost out of nowhere.

"Yep. Just know which one he'll get teased for," Leon playfully said.

"Nobody, is going to tease Ash!" I told the blond as I took my son from Chris's arms. "Or they'll have to deal with me."

Chris kissed the top of my head. "Just remember which one of us is scarier when angry," he said.

"That's a drawl," Jill said as she walked over, Carlos in tow.

I stuck my tongue out at Chris, and I realized then that, despite all of the things we've been through, in those moments, I was truly, utterly, _happy_.

And really, that's what matters the most.

Though, even if everybody else in the world hated Albert Wesker with an undying passion, I somehow managed to care about him. After all, if it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't be leading the life I do.

* * *

**_Author's Note: _**Well, I hope you enjoyed this! And please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks Jake and Rebecca look kind of alike, even just a little bit…

If you were able to read all of that and are now reading this, please leave a review and also tell me if you want to see small oneshots set in the same universe!

~_HolleringHawk65_


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